Sullivan: Coach Kevin Ollie was right guy to bring back UConn

Second-year coach Kevin Ollie celebrating UConn's East regional final win over Michigan State on Sunday.

NEW YORK – Kevin Ollie, onetime college basketball star, longtime NBA veteran, knows a thing or three about getting position under a basket. But on this night, under this basket, Ollie didn’t mind taking an assist from a bright blue ladder, the one his team was using to cut down the net, the one every coach and player dreams of needing during the NCAA tournament, the one that means you have just secured a place in the Final Four.

Perched high upon a top rung, Ollie clipped one of the final remaining strands of the Madison Square Garden net, the white nylon peeking out from his fingers as he cupped his hand behind his ear. In just his second year as Connecticut coach, the former UConn point guard had just led his seventh-seeded Huskies to a stunning, bruising, exciting and, for anyone outside the state of Connecticut, wildly unexpected win over No. 2 seed Michigan State, 60-54.

A game of wild swings – first punch by Connecticut, which opened the game on an 11-2 run, second blow to Michigan State, which fought back to take a nine-point lead early in the second half, knockout swings by Connecticut, which used a 12-0 run to retake the lead, a 26-7 run to up it to 10, and a perfect 18-for-18 second-half free-throw effort to protect it – was the perfect metaphor for the team itself.

National champions just three years ago to struggling program by last season, when NCAA sanctions for academic shortcomings kept them out of the postseason, when the conference carousel shut them out of the vaunted Big East and left them holding the banner for the fledgling AAC, when the man who built the program and coached it to three national titles was forced into retirement by bad health and bad mojo.

Yet there Jim Calhoun stood, in the middle of the mayhem on the Garden court, beaming like a proud father.

There he stood, his blue knit sweater shining in the flashbulbs and lights, watching his former pupil become his protégé, listening as the thousands of UConn fans who had done so much to turn this into a home game refuse to go home just yet, waiting instead to see Ollie snip those final strands of the East regional champions’ net.

“Ke-vin Oll-ie,” they chanted, over and over again. Ollie heard them, but he wasn’t quite satisfied. Grinning, laughing, urging them on, he cupped that hand behind his ear, then waved it in their direction, challenging them to get louder.

They did their best, wanting so much to let the man who revived their beloved program know how much they appreciated his work.

Because this job wasn’t easy. Yes, Ollie inherited some sublimely good players, including guard Shabazz Napier, who hit every big shot his team needed Sunday, and guard Ryan Boatwright, whose clampdown style led a defensive effort that shocked even Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.

But he also inherited the mess of academic failings, had to deal with the demise of the historically great basketball conference and had to face the many, many questions that he would be no match for Calhoun, even when it was Calhoun himself who handpicked him.

“They never believe what I say,” Calhoun said, eyes twinkling. “He did the work. This is great. I am so proud of him.

“It says more about Kevin than it does about me. I feel great for him. I never had a doubt he could do this. He was the right man at the time, and he’s proven it.

“He’s a special guy. He’s always been a special kid. He’s like a son to me. He’s got character. He works exceptionally hard. And he relates exceptionally well with the kids. … We haven’t gone any place. And we’re back here again. I’m so proud of them.”

Ollie has done it his own way, replacing Calhoun’s legendary tough love (and rough language) with a softer, more encouraging tone.
He relies heavily on mantras — demanding players rise to Level Five (“the right way, believing what’s on your chest and not what’s on your back”), to follow the FIST philosophy (fight, identity, state and together) – and they have resonated with his players.

“Coach Ollie is a real positive dude,” Boatwright said. “Any negative he tries to make into a positive. Coach Calhoun is going to get on you. He’s going to cuss you out. He’s going to challenge you. He’s going to call you names.
“But if you were tough and you could handle it, it brought the best out of you.”

Ollie has found ways to get the best of this group, too, pulling out the right motivational tactics at the right times. When his team was playing at SMU in January, he took them to see the Cowboys’ stadium, site of next weekend’s Final Four, and challenged them to make it back.

When his team was faltering near the end of the regular season, losing by 33 to Louisville, he popped in the tape of their earlier win over No. 1 Florida, a reminder of their potential for greatness. That was Florida’s last loss, and after seeing it again, the start of Connecticut’s big push.

“Coach Ollie is the coolest coach in America,” sophomore Phillip Nolan said. “It’s like having a brother for a coach.”

The Huskies and Gators meet again Saturday night in Texas in the national semifinals. The winner gets to play for the title.

The winner of the final will be back atop a ladder once more, taking their one shining moment to cut down the game’s most coveted net.

“It’s a great time when you can get on that ladder, but I was really taking my time, one step at a time,” Ollie said Sunday.

“You can’t skip steps. And the last two years, we didn’t skip steps.”

Behind a coach who has taken all the right ones, this improbable journey continues.